For a long time specialists have agreed that in order to be effective, teeth must be brushed from the gum towards the end of the tooth, i.e, downwards for the top jaw and upwards for the bottom jaw.
It has been a long standing need to make a perfect tooth cleaning device. Most dental decay and gum problems start from the area called embrasure, which is the space located between two adjacent teeth and the gum line. Present manual and electrical toothbrushes can not reach these areas very efficiently. In addition, brushing direction is important to protect the gum line from receding. To achieve this goal, the brushing direction should be on the long axis of the tooth and at the same time, it should be directed from the gum tissue towards the direction of the target tooth. In the present market, there are some toothbrushes manufactured based on this concept. However, since the designers of these toothbrushes apparently ignored major or minor structural parts or system in their designs, their products can lead to one or more secondary problems or can never reach the intended goal.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any literature or patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents are considered related.
PAT. NO.INVENTORISSUED6,625,834Dean30 Sep. 20035,864,911Arnoux et al 2 Feb. 19995,177,827Ellison12 Jan. 19935,027,463Daub 2 Jul. 19914,313,237Smith 2 Feb. 19822,758,326Keely et al14 Aug. 19562,628,377 Cochriel17 Feb. 1953
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,625,834 discloses a preferably non-electric, non-mechanically actuated toothbrush having a generally U-shaped appearance with a rotary brush located, during use, on each side of a tooth to be cleaned. The brushes are configured to rotate about an axis which is parallel to the long axis of the tooth to be cleaned, and essentially perpendicular to the buccal and lingual gum line, of the user. The brushes are preferably held in contact with the teeth and gum tissue by a resilient section of the toothbrush. In this fashion, a pushing and pulling motion during brushing results in a rotational motion of the brushes.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,864,911 discloses a mechanical toothbrush with a dual rotary brushing system and comprising a handle-forming body and a head fixed to the handle which is provided with two adjacent contra-rotating brushes of cylindrical shape and having substantially parallel axes. Each of the two brushes is driven by a flexible shaft situated in the head and supported, at least at its distal end, by a respective bearing mounted on a support that enables the two brushes to move apart, one away from the other, then urging the brushes towards the other by a return effect.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,827 discloses a simplified single-procedure approach to self-administered dental-care, achieved through means of a special hand-portable/battery-powered instrument, having a chargeable-battery and a motor with gear-reduction contained within the handle portion. While preferably detachably-mounted thereto is a special extensile bifurcated structure provided with lateral adjustability by which to accommodate variations in individual mouth width, while supporting a plurality of motor-drive rotary-brush elements capable of uniformly scrubbing all of the mouth's teeth, away from the gums, inside and out, in a simultaneous single motion fully-automated manner. Hence, the notion of a manually inserted, selectively actuated oral instrument, serving to brush clean the entire inside mouth surfaces of the gums, teeth, and adjoining cheek and tongue surfaces in a rapid simultaneous manner being a substantial advancement, efficiently eliminating reliance upon one's own manual dexterity for effectual daily oral-hygiene.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,463 discloses a toothbrush for use in simultaneously brushing and cleaning the occlusal, lingual and buccal surfaces of the upper and lower teeth of a user. The toothbrush, in the preferred embodiment, is power-driven and includes bristle support member which anchors bristles from opposite surfaces thereof. The bristles are arranged in longitudinal rows including central rows, intermediate rows and outer rows. The central rows are straight while the intermediate and outer rows are curved for engaging the lingual and buccal surfaces. The bristles are shaped and arranged in a heating chamber while being anchored to the bristle support member.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,237 discloses an improved driven rotary toothbrush having an electric motor enclosed in a handle and driving a plurality of rotary brushes for simultaneously cleaning multiple tooth surfaces. The rotary brushes are mounted in a brush head adapted to be releasably supported on one end of an elongated brush head support stem having flexible drive shafts extending therealong and having its other end adapted to be releasably mounted on the handle to provide rotary driven connection between the motor and brushes. The releasable mounting of the brush head and of the support stem enables hygienic use of the same motor and handle by a plurality of persons through use of personalized snap-on brush heads and support stems, and also makes possible the easy and economical replacement of the brush heads.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,758,326 discloses a power driven rotary toothbrush which enables the user to reach without difficulty the teeth least accessible, i.e., the back molars, and which subjects the teeth to gentle yet effective and approved cleaning action.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,628,377 discloses a mechanical toothbrush having rotary brushes.
While these patents and other previous methods have attempted to solve the problems that they addressed, none have utilized or disclosed a protective shield directed to addressing soft tissue irritation, oral cavity malignancies and splashing, and/or a guiding stop directed to proper tooth positioning of the device, as does embodiments of the technology described herein.
Therefore, a need exists for a dual rotating electric toothbrush with these attributes and functionalities. The dual rotating electric toothbrush according to embodiments of the invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art. It can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved dual rotating electric toothbrush which can be used commercially. In this regard, the technology described herein substantially fulfills these objectives.
The foregoing patent and other information reflect the state of the art of which the inventor is aware and are tendered with a view toward discharging the inventor's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information that may be pertinent to the patentability of the technology described herein. It is respectfully stipulated, however, that the foregoing application and other information do not each or render obvious, singly or when considered in combination, the inventor's claimed invention.